A Warrior and an Assasin
by Slothzar
Summary: What happens when a no-nonsense dwarven warrior meets a smooth assassin? A lot, apparently. F!Brosca x Zevran. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Captive

_AN: Finally starting to publish fics again! I've been writing this one for a while now so expect chapter updates about once a week. Enjoy~_

Mina was not attractive, at least, not in the traditional sense. For starters, she was stocky, even for a dwarf. The enormous greatsword she wielded in combat only added to her already thick physique. She had a short crop of jaw-length auburn hair, which she kept jammed up in a tiny bun on top of her head. Often she would shave off the bottom portion of her scalp that didn't quite make it into the bun, citing the heat and discomfort of having hair on her neck. When an opportunity allowed her to briefly catch sight of her face in a mirror or a particularly shiny shield, she would see a roundish face, squat nose, brownish-purple face tattoo, and occasionally a new scar.

She'd never minded her appearance. Frankly it served her well enough growing up. As the more traditionally attractive sibling, Rica had the pressure to find a suitor. Mina preferred to solve things with brute force and thankfully her reputation had meant only the drunkest of hands had attempted to paw at her once or twice before she taught them better.

So why then, would this intimidating dwarf find herself being stared at by an extremely above-average looking elf? At first she assumed he was studying her, trying to learn what he could about her mannerisms in order to plan an escape. But it had been three days since his capture and he showed no signs of resisting. In fact he now sat contentedly, his bronzed legs crossed on the ground languorously and his gaze calmly meeting hers. He winked and flashed his pearly white teeth.

Annoyed by this development, Mina stood up from her spot by the fire and reluctantly moved over to her captive.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked gruffly, crossing her arms as she came to stand in front of the elf.

"I am merely wondering how long you intend to keep up this charade of imprisonment," Zevran replied easily, gesturing with his bound wrists. "Not that I mind being tied up every night by a lovely creature such as yourself."

She huffed defensively, feeling her face grow hot. "And what makes you think your imprisonment is a charade? You did try to kill me, you know."

"And I have already sworn my life to you. I take it you won't believe the word of an assassin, but I assure you, if I wanted to run, I would have already."

Mina roughly reached out and tightened his bonds. He only smirked.

"And tell me, what do you intend to do with me when a battle breaks out? We have been lucky so far on the road but it is a Blight. Would you have me kick the darkspawn away? Or sidetrack one of your companions into keeping an eye on me while the fighting continues?" His golden eyes met hers in a direct challenge, but his voice remained smooth and friendly.

Mina scowled at him. This very dilemma had been plaguing her thoughts all day. Keeping a prisoner was a burden, one her team couldn't afford. "Fine. You might as well carry your weight around here. Tomorrow you walk free. Besides, you've already fucked up my assassination once." She shrugged. "I'm sure I can handle you again."

"But why wait until tomorrow?"

The dwarf kicked his leg, but not hard enough to cause real damage; she did need him in walking shape tomorrow morning. "You said it yourself: you're enjoying this whole being tied up thing. Who am I to judge?"

Despite herself, she found that she enjoyed his company the next morning. Free from his constricting ropes that left him at trudging the back of the pack, he proved to be quite the chatterbox. It made for a pleasant break between Morrigan's complaining and Alistair's poor attempts at jokes.

As the sun set and conversation turned to where to set up camp, the assassin made his way next to Mina.

"Are you regretting your decision to free me, Warden?" the elf asked, pushing his luck by lightly bumping into her shoulder with his hip.

She frowned at him, one thick brow arching. "Maybe. Tell me another story about a mark and we'll see if I change my mind."

With that, Zevran tilted his head back and laughed. Mina was annoyed to admit that she cracked a smile too.


	2. Questions

**Questions**

Zevran sat across the fire from his former captor, a warm bowl of stew in his hands and the idle chatter of her companions filling his ears. Of all the outcomes he could have predicted for himself after accepting a suicidal contract to kill two Grey Wardens, this was _not_ what he would have bet on.

Even more intriguing was the dwarven woman currently smacking Alistair on the back to compliment a particular bit of swordsmanship she'd seen back in Lothering.

Mina. It was certainly a beautiful name for a deadly woman. Even though they hadn't run into any darkspawn yet, he could tell from her carriage that she knew how to handle a sword. Her body was strong and stout and a small part of him wondered just how easily she could pick him up. The thought lingered for a few more moments than necessary.

He watched her as he ate; she counseled Alistair on their current situation, listened to Leliana's stories of the Maker even though she was clearly uninterested, attempted to coax more than two words from Sten, and even made her way to Morrigan's corner of the camp to speak with the Witch of the Wilds. She cared about these people. They were her family, that much was clear.

Finally she came back to the fire, stretching her arms above her head and giving a large yawn. Zevran automatically ran his eyes down her body, curious if this position would tell him more about what lay beneath her bulky armor. She caught his glance and scowled before plopping down in front of him.

"You joining me on watch?" She gestured to the rest of camp; their remaining companions had already retired.

Zevran shrugged. "I imagine it would make your Warden friend feel better if I were not left alone."

Mina waved a hand dismissively. "Alistair's like a mabari: protective and loyal, but sometimes you just want him to calm the fuck down."

At this, her warhound Pebble whimpered pleadingly until Mina scratched his head affectionately.

Zevran chuckled and tossed another branch onto the fire. He contemplated her once more, her gray eyes scanning the horizon and the firelight glancing off her skin. She looked intense and watchful; he wondered how hard her life had been before the Blight. "May I ask you a question?"

The dwarf turned to look at him, still wary. "Fine."

"Why did you spare me? Forgive me, but you don't seem like the sentimental type."

Mina smirked. "You're right about that." Then she paused and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, clearly not in her element. "Look, I know what it's like to not have a choice when it comes to a job."

His eyes fell on her purple face tattoo and recognition dawned on him: she was casteless. He could not help but think that despite the mark's attempt to mar her reputation, it complimented her features beautifully.

"You seem well adjusted to the surface." He got the sense she didn't want to delve into her past.

She shrugged. "Could be worse. My sister thought I'd fall into the sky if I came to the surface. So far that hasn't happened. And stars are nice," she admitted, craning her neck back. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "Could do without people trying to kill me all the time."

The assassin gave her a mock bow. "I assure you, it will never happen again. Well, at least not from me. You are quite unpopular with the darkspawn, I hear."

At that remark she granted him a small smile and Zevran felt an unfamiliar pull to cause more for her.


	3. Sparring

**Sparring**

He was doing it again. The staring. This time she felt it along the back of her body as she went through her nightly exercises. They'd had another calm day on the road and she wanted to keep her muscles sharp for their next encounter. But even the familiar swing of her sword couldn't keep her mind off the pair of eyes that were currently roving over her.

"What, do you want to have a go at me?"

"There is nothing I would like better, Warden," he replied in that usual lilting tone.

"Fuck off," she grumbled, turning to face him even as she knew her voice wasn't nearly as intimidating as she'd hoped and a telltale blush was spreading across her face. "Come on then, let's spar. I bet I could wipe that smirk off your face."

"An intriguing request." Zevran grinned and started stretching a bit to warm up.

She tried desperately to look anywhere else but the sinewy muscles in front of her. He seemed to notice and took his time. "Hurry up. Sun's fading fast and I won't be held responsible if I happen to lop off an ear in the dark."

"Tsk, so impatient!" he clucked disapprovingly. "I hope you're not this selfish as a lover."

At this she rushed him, sword coming in dangerously fast even as she held it so only the broad side would make contact. The elf easily dodged her with a quick sidestep and drew his daggers.

"I seem to have hit a nerve," he continued, circling her now as she regained her balance.

"I do just fine in bed, thank you," Mina sputtered, wondering why in Thedas she was telling him this.

"I'm sure you do," he chuckled quietly, still assessing her movements carefully. All of a sudden he was on top of her, pinning her down to the ground. "I myself would love to test that theory."

The dwarf growled and rolled over quickly, placing her sword at his throat. "You really don't take a hint, do you?"

The elf looked surprisingly calm beneath her and she struggled to keep her breath steady as he met her gaze, his golden hair splayed out around him. He smiled widely like a cat. "I'm picking up a hint now. Something about how you'd very much like to fuck me, despite your rather rude demeanor towards me."

Mina glowered at him, getting up from their entangled position and walking off without a word. Damn elf. Damn, know-it-all elf.

Sparring became a regular event for them on calm nights. She liked the challenge his quick movements provided and Alistair had proven to be a timid sparring partner in comparison. The fact that she occasionally didn't mind finding herself straddling the elf was irrelevant.

At least, that's what she told herself the next time she stood before him, hand on the hilt of her sword. It had been a long day, and though they usually only sparred on days where they had not encountered any fights she found herself tense and unable to sleep. Thoughts of darkspawn plagued her and she wondered how humans and elves could stand these "dream" things every night.

"Ready?"

The elf cocked his head. "My Warden, we have fought many today. Are you sure you wish to exert yourself again?"

Mina shrugged. "Consider it stress relief."

Zevran grinned. "I could think of several other activities to help relieve stress."

The dwarf scowled in a warning.

"I speak only of a massage, of course."

She rolled her eyes and walked towards the edge of camp and he dutifully followed. Their sparring routine continued as normal, until Mina felt a sharp pain in her side and stumbled. To her surprise Zevran caught her substantial weight with ease and lowered her gently to the ground.

"Are you hurt, Warden?"

His voice sounded like it came from far away. She blindly groped for the source of pain and her hand came away sticky with blood. "Fucking darkspawn," she mumbled, nearly incoherent. "Wound must've opened back up." Morrigan was still training in healing arts and evidently still needed work on her stitching.

"I told you not tonight," Zevran hissed, lifting her bodily to take her back to camp.

"I can walk," she insisted, struggling in his arms.

"Nonsense. This will be faster without you passing out on the way," he assured her. "Besides, it's been far too long since I've had a beautiful woman in my arms."

"Shut up," she grumbled, trying to focus on the crunch of Zevran's boots on the ground instead of how utterly _pleasant_ his arms felt around her.

"Is it always that hard for you to take a compliment?" Zevran smiled innocently. "Come, let us have Morrigan see to you. Perhaps you had a headwound today and we didn't realize it."


	4. Haircut

p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Haircutbr /br /spanstrong id="docs-internal-guid-3138e601-7fff-8e9f-8383-998a041398b6" style="font-weight: normal;"/strong/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It was hot. Sweltering, actually. According to a very unhelpful fact from Alistair, it was one of the hottest summers in Ferelden history. Ordinarily Mina loved the heat. Growing up she'd find excuses to hang around forges; she loved watching metals come together to make something powerful and then guessing at the sword's worth with her friends. But out here on the surface, having grown up with no sun to beat down on her, Mina's skin quickly exploded into ugly patches of sunburns and /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Mina was just settling down to get ready for bed when she felt hair tickling the back of her sunburnt neck. She sighed in exasperation and reached up to place the lock of hair in her bun. But when she felt the back of her ordinarily peach-fuzzed scalp she found an alarming amount of /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A certain ache filled her. Before, her sister had always been the one to trim her hair. They'd stay up late waiting for their mother to go to bed before they sneakily trimmed Mina's scalp. Once they even saved up enough silver to buy a men's razor blade. Their mother had been annoyed but lenient. Of course it would be better for the family if they had two daughters to marry off but one would do. Besides, Mina was the muscle around the /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Mina sighed, pushing away old memories as she poked her head out of her tent to look for an assistant. Alistair would be too nervous and probably cut her in the process. Leliana was engrossed in playing music at the fire and Mina didn't much fancy a sermon at the moment. Sten and Morrigan were a no-go. Her eyes landed on Zevran, who was lounging against a stump with his eyes closed, seemingly listening to Leliana's plucks and /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It's always him, isn't it?/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" She grumbled to herself as she moved to stand in front of him. His golden eyes flashed open and caught her gaze immediately, sending her heart into her throat. Not quite willing to admit she was reduced to asking for his help, she wordlessly jabbed her thumb over her shoulder to gesture at her /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The assassin grinned lecherously and made a great show of standing and stretching. "It's about time, my sweet."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Absolutely not what you think it is," she grunted, ignoring the look of confusion coming over Alistair's face and retreating to her tent before the rest of the camp decided to comment on this arrangement. /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Zevran followed her, stooping slightly to accommodate the small space. Ancestors he was close; he smelled like leather and brandy and his body radiated warmth throughout her /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""How may I help you, Warden? Perhaps you've rethought my offer for a massage?"br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Frowning, Mina placed her small blade in his hand with a bit more force than necessary and turned around to point out her scraggly hairline. br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Oh is /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"that/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" all?" Zevran chuckled, the sound unfairly delightful. He gestured towards her bedroll. "Come, sit. You made a wise choice. Clearly /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"I/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" have the best hair in camp."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Mina snorted and plopped onto the ground as the elf settled behind her and began working her leather hair tie loose. She jumped at his unexpected touch on her /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Calm, Warden. I'm holding a blade, you know."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I must be the only nutter who'd expose my neck to a Crow." br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That is true. But we have known each other long enough to have a certain level of trust with one another, no?" His fingers began to run through her loosened hair and she suppressed a shiver. br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Something about the way he said that struck her as odd. Sure there was some classic Zevran flirting in there, but also a subtle ask for more; he really did value her friendship. She could tell when he chose to sit by her at camp, or when he offered to spin her another tale from his time with the Crows and was pleasantly surprised by her nonjudgmental attitude towards his /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I trust you as far as I can throw you, and I'm guessing that's pretty far," she chuckled. Despite their hostile beginnings the elf was beginning to grow on her./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /Zevran laughed and began to snip at her hair, the pleasant sound of the blade tickling her ears. "Why /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"do/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" you keep your hair this short, my lovely? Not that it doesn't look nice, it is just unusual. Is it common in Orzammar?"br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Eh, I'd say women there aren't as fussy about their hair as surfacers are. Maybe some noblewomen, but the casteless like me could give two shits. Well, maybe the prostitutes do. I just don't like my hair getting in the way."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He continued snipping. "Hard not to like a practical woman."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She only grunted in reply. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He's being nice. You're friends, remember?br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Zevran tsked disapprovingly as he turned her head to get a better angle. "My dear, you are simply scalded from the sun. Why don't l fetch you a soothing balm for this, no?"br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""That'd be great, actually," she admitted, enjoying the cool touch of his fingers as he gently inspected her /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He continued in silence for a while and Mina felt more relaxed than she had in weeks, even resisting the urge to lean back against his legs. After a while he set the blade down and gently turned her head side to side to admire his /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I think we are done," he announced proudly. "See for yourself." He handed her her shiny chest armor and she held it at arm's /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He'd done a fine job. The short buzzcut of the lower section was trimmed perfectly and he'd even thinned out some of the top so her head felt considerably lighter. She reached for her hair tie and paused, deciding that she actually wouldn't mind keeping her hair down for once. Might as well, when it looked this /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You like?"br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Not bad," she smiled. "Might just have to keep you around for next time."/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /"I live to serve. Now how about that balm?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /The elf sauntered out of the tent to fetch his medicine and Mina took the opportunity to glance at his backside with a satisfied smile. He certainly wasn't hard to look at, she'd give him that much. br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Shortly afterwards he returned with a small jar full of light green paste. Mina held her hand out expectantly but Zevran waggled a finger at her. "And how exactly are you supposed to get to all those hard to reach spots? Might I remind you that I posses the massage skills learned only in an Antivan whorehouse."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"The dwarf rolled her eyes. "If this is what cures my sunburn, then sure." /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It's just a massage. This is just for your health. Right. I'm so /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Once more Zevan settled behind her and opened the jar with a satisfying pop. A soothing scent wafted over her and she shivered at the cool sensation of ointment on her burning skin as his fingers slipped into the top of her tunic. The assassin gently worked in the medicine, his fingers rubbing softly at first and then kneading her sore muscles until a very unusual sound escaped Mina's lips: it was a long and lingering moan./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /She could practically hear the grin spreading on his face behind her and she immediately regretted her slip up. "Enjoying yourself?"/span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /"You're...good at this," she managed, swallowing thickly./span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"br /He continued, a little slower this time. "I'm good at lots of things." She felt him lean in close as his fingers trailed down her back. "Do you want me to continue?" His voice was still sultry and sweet; she could almost feel his lips brushing against her /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"For a moment her mind froze. Surely he's joking. The man flirted with everything in sight and she was just target practice. Finally her senses returned to her and she shook her head. "I'm not one of your swooning conquests, elf." She turned slightly to give him a single-eyed /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You could be."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"At this Mina fully turned to face him, cheeks burning red and eyes set in a deep glare. "Why do you do that?"br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Zevran tilted his head. "Do what, my beautiful Warden?"br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"That/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"." She ran a hand down her face in frustration. "Are you just trying to get a rise out of me? We both know you're not serious."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Do we, now?" The assassin leaned forward so their noses were nearly /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Mina automatically drew back, eyes /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You are surprised." He looked amused at this /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I... assumed you were joking. You know, flirt with the giant dwarven woman, see if she kills you." Why was it so bloody /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"hot/spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" in this tent?br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He shrugged. "Some people are into blondes, some brunettes. I prefer deadly sex goddesses, if you recall. I also will remind you that this is not my first offer to warm your bed."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She huffed uncomfortably, trying to get some oxygen to her brain. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He's an assassin. An assassin that was sent to kill you. This is a bad idea. Plus you're kind of in the middle of trying to kill an Archdemon so it's not like this is the best time. /spanspan style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Finally she gestured towards the tent's entrance. "Thanks for the haircut."br /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""Of course, dear Warden," the elf nodded. Whatever you desire." He stood to leave, pausing at the flap of the tent. "Should you ever change your mind my other services are always available." He ran his eyes slowly down her body just to be sure she got the /br /span/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Her cheeks burned and she covered it up with a laugh that she hoped didn't sound too shaky. "Out, elf."/span/p 


End file.
